SOUTHINGTON, Conn. — Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) says that Congress will work to restore tax breaks for volunteer firefighters and EMS professionals that expired in 2010.
“Most towns in Connecticut and the country rely on volunteers who have professional training and put their lives on the line whey they respond,” Blumenthal told the Hartford Courant. “The federal government should not burden them” with taxes on the firefighters’ small incomes that were previously exempt from taxation.
Connecticut has an estimated 22,000 volunteers with many towns relying solely on volunteer crews to fight fires. According to National Fire Protection Association data, there are about 768,000 volunteer firefighters across the United States — roughly 70 percent of all firefighters.
Southington Fire Chief Harold Clark wrote a letter to Blumenthal, which prompted his visit to the town.
Chief Clark told Blumenthal that it was wrong to resume taxes on the $8 per fire call stipend that the Southington department pays its volunteers.
“Their stipend is below minimum wage,” he said.
Until the law expired in 2010, public safety volunteers nation-wide were exempt from taxation on their stipends, which is about $1,000 a year for most volunteers.
Blumenthal, who cosponsors the bill to restart the exemption, said he hopes the bill will pass this year. He says he is confident it will pass as it benefits every state.
The Hartford Courant reports that fire officials are saying that hiring new volunteers will remain difficult until the exemption is renewed, as being taxed on the already modest stipend is deterring new recruits.
“True, it’s not a lot of money, but it’s the right thing to do,” Lt. Robert Guthrie of the West Haven Fire Department said.